


The Memories and Scars

by buckysbears (DrZebra)



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Gen, Parental Riza Hawkeye, Parental Roy Mustang, Post-Promised Day, Post-Series, Scars, Swimming, Team as Family, i know aquatic therapy wasnt a thing yet but JUST LET THEM HAVE A REASON TO GO SWIMMING
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 21:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15276093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrZebra/pseuds/buckysbears
Summary: Riza never meant for him to see. She never meant to burden him with that.But there is no shortage of scars among them. So at least in that, she's not alone.





	The Memories and Scars

**Author's Note:**

> just a little drabble. wanted to write something fun for a change & try my hand at ed and al 
> 
> thank you agentcalliope for betaing!!

“Hey!” Roy barks. “Will you stop splashing all the way over here? I’m far enough from the pool that you have to be doing this on purpose.”

“You’re right next to the pool!” Ed shoots back. He knows Roy can’t see the grin on his face, and he’s taking full advantage.

“I—” Roy’s scowl freezes, then deepens. “I am not. Your voice sounds further away.”

A twinkle shining in his eye, Ed turns to Riza. “Come on, Lieutenant, tell him. He’s right next to the pool.”

She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. “No comment.”

Roy’s hands fly up. His exasperated gaze isn’t directed at her so much as in their general direction. “Don’t tell me you’re on their side.”

A noise turns Riza’s head. Al stifles a laugh, weakly clutching at his ribs as Ed winks at him. He knows full well what’s going to happen next. The boy’s glee breaks through Riza’s defenses, and the smile spreads on her face.

Ed pulls his arms back in the water, holds in a snicker, and splashes towards Roy with all his might.

She should’ve at least warned him, Riza thinks. But then again, the look on his face is so good that she wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to see it.

“Goddammit, Fullmetal!”

Roy wipes the water from his face, and Riza can’t help it. She throws her head back and laughs. The cut on her neck stings as it stretches, but it’s worth it.

“Don’t know why I even let you talk me into coming,” Roy mutters from behind his towel, patting off his face. “Stupid idea. Should’ve stayed in my room.”

“You would’ve been lonely while the lieutenant and I did our aquatic therapy!” Al chirps, and Riza marvels at how innocent he can make his voice while retaining such a devious look in his eye. She wonders how often they missed that aspect when he was in the armor.

Roy continues muttering, then lies back and spreads the towel over himself, covering his body from his calves to his chin. At least he’d opted to put on the swim trunks the hospital had given him, rather than stay in his robe. Ed and Al sport the same black trunks. Riza’s covered thighs to neck in her own swimsuit—Rebecca had generously brought Riza’s from her apartment. She wasn’t about to wear a communal suit. The robe was one thing. This was another.

“Alright, boys,” Riza says, and both their heads turn to look at her. “That’s enough of teasing the colonel.”

Ed grins something feral. “I was just getting started! I was gonna suggest we play chicken next. Colonel’s on top.” His voice drops to a whisper. “Unlike usual.”

Riza turns away, looking towards Al and ignoring Roy’s shout of “ _Don’t you make me come over there you little—!_ "

“Have you done all your exercises?” she asks.

Al’s eyes blink wider. “Yes.”

“Al.”

“No.”

Riza huffs a laugh. “Come on, I’ll do them with you.”

They swim to the far side of the pool, propping their elbows back on the wall and letting their legs kick out. Riza feels a little ridiculous doing it—it’s not like she had a major injury, it was mostly blood loss. But she had volunteered to try the aquatic therapy so Al wouldn’t feel lonely doing it. Plus, it beat the little walking tours of her hospital floor she’d been forced to endure up until this point.

Al watches Ed and Roy bicker with a smile on his face.

She thinks Roy might be smoking a little—literally, but she’s not about to put herself in the middle. She turns away, and reaches up to tug gently on the ends of Al’s hair.

“Planning on growing it out?” she asks.

Al snorts. “No. That’s brother’s look. I want to cut it short, but I haven’t found anyone who’ll do it. None of the nurses want to take a swing at it.”

Riza shrugs. “I haven’t cut short hair in a while, but I can try. I used to cut mine.”

Al turns to her, grinning. “I remember you with short hair. Yeah, if you want to, that’d be great.” He sighs, and then droops. “My legs are tired.”

“I think you’re fine to stop.”

Al gratefully lets his legs sink in the water.

He looks pretty beat, so Riza pushes herself from the wall, turns away from him, and looks back over her shoulder. “Want a ride back?”

His eyes widen in surprise, but after a moment of deliberation, he nods, and swims forward to cling to her shoulders. Riza hooks her arms under his legs, and starts making her way back to the others, the tips of her toes skimming the bottom of the pool. She fears holding his legs too tightly against her sides—they’re so skinny she feels she could snap them in half without meaning to. His grip on her shoulders isn’t strong, but it isn’t so weak she’s concerned by it, so that’s something. He’s been regaining strength slowly but surely. Everyone was excited when the hospital suggested the pool time, especially him.

“Hey!” Ed says as they make their way closer. “How come he gets a piggyback ride!”

He stalks closer, and Al laughs.

She isn’t sure why Roy is sitting with his legs in the water now, even more prime to be splashed. She isn’t sure until Ed passes him, and the ripples reach his legs. She isn’t sure until he smirks, and kicks out.

Eyes widening in surprise, Ed goes under. But not before wildly reaching out a hand to stop his fall.

Al yelps as the hand grabs onto his bathing suit. He scrambles for purchase on Riza’s back, and his fingers find the collar of her swimsuit as he slips.

Riza doesn’t feel when the air hits her back. She doesn’t feel when her suit snaps back into place. But judging by how tight it pulled around her trachea, judging by the way Al flinches and pushes away from her, she knows what he saw.

The scar goes pretty high up, after all.

Ed splutters as he comes out of the water. Al is motionless behind her. She doesn’t turn around as Ed shouts, “You’re a damned bastard, Colonel!” Just stares at the opposite wall, wondering what she’s supposed to do.

She never meant for him to see that.

“I’m sorry,” Al whispers, and she forces herself to turn around. “I didn’t mean to,” he says, and she forces herself not to frown.

“It’s okay,” she says back, barely more than a whisper herself. “It was an accident.”

Ed’s rage stills, lips falling to cover his bared teeth. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Riza says. “It’s fine.”

His brows furrow, and he raises a careful hand to turn Al towards him. “Did I hurt you when I fell?”

Al shakes his head, eyes downcast. It’s hard to tell if there’s the beginnings of tears in his eyes, or if Riza’s imaging it. He risks a glance up to her. “Are you mad?”

“Of course not,” she says, even though she is. Not at him, but at herself, for allowing this to happen. She doesn’t know exactly how much he saw, but by the look in his eye, it was enough to put the pieces together. She never meant to burden him with that.

“Mad about _what_?” Ed growls, throwing his hands up. “Is no one gonna tell me—”

He’s cut off as Roy’s hand smacks into his jaw, then finds his ear with his fingers and tugs.

“He saw her scar, idiot,” Roy says, voice low. He must’ve figured it out by context, Riza thinks. “Calm down.”

“Oh.” Ed stills.

For a moment there’s a silence, and Riza thinks she’s had quite enough of swimming for a while. She wants to go to her room and put on her heaviest sweater, play some music. Maybe play chess. More than anything, she doesn’t want to be here.

“Well, that’s okay,” Ed continues after a moment, gently waving Roy’s hand away. “Everyone’s got scars. Look at this one!” He pulls himself onto the wall next to Roy, straitening his stomach to show them a jagged scar on his abdomen. “I got impaled!”

Though obviously the danger has passed, a spike of fear clenches in Riza’s heart. “You _what_.”

“Yeah,” he says casually. “I mean, it’s fine now.”

Roy’s eyebrows pull together, and his hand flickers out for a moment before drawing back towards himself. Ed grabs it in his own and steers him towards the damage. His eyes linger unseeing on the water as his fingers trace over the old wound. He pulls back his hand and nods, satisfied.

“Bet you didn’t cauterize it yourself,” Roy says, something like a challenge. Riza rolls her eyes for show, but she’s grateful the attention has been taken off her.

Ed snorts. “No. I did use alchemy on it, though.”

“Impressive,” Roy says.

“We’re going to talk more about that later,” Riza adds, a hint of warning in her tone.

The boy snickers. “Yeah, yeah, fine. I’ve got less of a scar than you, though, Colonel.”

Roy places a hand on his own abdomen. It’s in the same spot as Ed’s, Riza notes. But the scars have healed differently. Roy’s is red, the flesh almost like leather. Ed’s is a puckered line.

“Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?” Roy says.

This time, Riza’s eye roll isn’t for show.

Al holds out his arms. “I wonder …” They watch as he twists from the wrists down. “Oh! Brother, look!”

Ed leans forward to see. Al holds a finger to a slash of lighter skin on the inside of his arm.

“I still have it!” Al says, gleeful. “I didn’t know if I would!”

“You were chopping vegetables for dinner, right? And the knife slipped?”

Al grins and nods. “I caught it. With my arm.” His eyes widen. “Do I still have the one on my foot?”

As the boy leans back in the water, Riza shoots forward to support him, a hand under his back. Al’s foot rises from the water, and he wiggles it in front of his brother.

Ed nods. “Uh-huh. From when you stepped on the nail.”

Al laughs. “Yeah! Man, that hurt a lot.” He lowers his foot and resettles.

“I hate to ruin the party,” Roy says, sounding like he doesn’t hate to ruin it at all, “but I think our pool time is up. You felt downright pruney, Fullmetal.”

Though there’s no way he could’ve seen it, when Riza shoots him a grateful smile, he smiles back.

“Ugh, fine,” Ed says. “Gotta ruin the fun.”

“That’s okay,” Al says, “I’m kind of freezing.”

Riza helps him out of the pool, then pulls herself up the wall. Roy is waiting to drop a towel over her shoulders, and she pulls it tighter around her. She takes his arm as they make their way back to their room, the boys chattering in front of them, leaving a trail of water behind. Ed holds open the door, and Riza maneuvers herself and Roy through it. As they cross into the hallway, a warmth presses into her side. Al’s head drops to her shoulder, and she wraps an arm around him.

Ed skips ahead of them, turning and walking backwards in front, his feet squeaking on the tiles.

“Watch out, Lieutenant,” he says, winking. “He’s clingy. You’re not gonna be able to get rid of him now.”

Al snickers, and Riza pulls him closer.

“That’s fine by me.”


End file.
